“Perceptual Training of Arabic Consonants in English-Speaking Quran Learners

Authors

Amanda A. SmithFollow

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

Master of Science (MS)

Major/Program

Speech-Language Pathology

First Advisor's Name

Angela Medina

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee chair

Second Advisor's Name

Balaji Rangarathnam

Second Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Third Advisor's Name

Iqbal Akhtar

Third Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Keywords

speech pathology and audiology

Date of Defense

6-23-2021

Abstract

In the American Muslim community, accurate perception of classical Arabic phonemes is of importance in order to understand and recite the Quran, which is read, studied, and recited in its original language. High variability phonemic training (HVPT) develops new phonemic categories by exposing learners to a variety of productions of new phonemes. In this study, HVPT therapy was used to train accurate perception of Arabic consonants that do not exist in English. Results indicated significant improvement in perception of Arabic consonants (pre-test mean = 58.5%, post-test mean = 64.8%, difference = 6.3%, p-value = .01). Improvement was seen for the contrasts /d-ḍ/, /k-q/, and /h/ħ/. No significant relationship between HVPT outcomes and language learning variables was found. Overall results of the study indicate the effectiveness of training perception of Arabic contrasts in English speaking Quran learners.

Identifier

FIDC010279

Recommended Citation

Smith, Amanda A., "“Perceptual Training of Arabic Consonants in English-Speaking Quran Learners" (2021). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 4767.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/4767